Earth-Bound (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
by PixellyBlock
Summary: A modern day world in which the Avatar is missing and the Fire Nation have once more started a war. NOTE: IRREGULAR UPDATES AND SHORT CHAPTERS
1. Chapter 1

**A Prologue**

I stifle a gasp of pain as the tip of my shoulder is scorched. _Act now!_ My mind screams at me, but I can't do it. "Not so tough now, huh?" Hisses a well-built male, his golden eyes shimmering with blood lust. _He's going to kill you!_ My conscious says. There's no way to describe the pain in my shoulder, and it doesn't fade away like regular pain. He steps towards my cowering frame.

"You're a bender, sweetheart. You have a spark in your eyes," he says, soft but dangerous.

"I am a non-bender." My face turns away from him. His fist slams into my nose, pain shooting up to my head. My vision begins to grow hazy and I slump against the brick wall behind me. A metallic taste touches my mouth and I can feel liquid running down my nose. I want to wipe the blood away but I don't.

"Tell me what you are before I kill you!" Snaps the fire bender, slowly twisting my arm backwards. _Kill him, Kira. Defend yourself!_ I think, but I can't do it. All these years I've spent hiding can't just go to waste like this. Not now, not here.

"I'm. A. Non. Bender." I say, determination glossing over the fear in my eyes as I look up at him. He twists my arm, using a move I can't recognize. I scream out in pain, an excruciating feeling taking over my arm and bursting through my shoulder. I'm no doctor, but I know that my shoulder's been misplaced. He slams a stick onto my head and I hopelessly fall to the ground. My blurred vision sees him scowling, blowing angry embers into my face before storming away. My mind is growing hazy as my eyes flutter closed, my finger twitching one last time before the world finally dissipated.


	2. Chapter 2

My eyes flutter open and are exposed to the florescent lights. They sting my vision, making water flow to my eyes a bit. I turn my head to look away, burying half my face into a cotton pillow. My head throbs with undesirable pain. Slowly my fingers linger across the shoulder that the fire bender had burnt me, but it's bandaged up with what feels like linen. I brush a strand of turquoise-colored hair out of my eyes and sing my legs over the edge of the bed, standing up quickly before my body resisted. My head begins to spin at the swift movement but it's fading away. Ignoring the head spins, I take in my surroundings. It's a small room with only an old wooden wardrobe, the bed I'm on, and a nightstand with a porcelain vase. I groan in pain.

 _I screwed up,_ I think, acknowledging the obvious. Barefooted, I lug myself over to the door. It's locked from the outside. I press my ear against it, able to hear a voice. "I'm sure she's a Bender, Smoke," says a calm, silky voice. "You can't be sure, Li. Besides, what were you thinking bring a girl that you _think_ is a Bender into the base?! Sometimes I don't understand you..." replied a more masculine voice. "Whatever." The door cracks open and I jerked back, my hand clenched into a fist. "You're awake," says the female, smiling warmly. My eyes widened. She's so calm. She stepped towards me and I relax, not tense anymore but slightly more alert. "It's all kay," she says, putting her palms up as she lightly helps me back to the bed. "I won't hurt you." Sitting on the bedside, she unwraps the linen covering my shoulder.

Water spills out of the vase, and glowing a mystical color, rests on my shoulder. The pain suddenly washes away and my shoulder is caressed in serenity (and water).

"My name is Lilac. I am a Water-Bender," she says, her voice soothing.

Her fingers slowly dance in the air as she bends the water. "Who are you?" She asks. "My name is Kira," I reply, but pause.  
Was this some sort of trance?... No, she was just using her own methods. "I'm a non-bender." The lie stings on my tongue every time I tell it. I so desperately want to tell the truth to someone, to be able to tell people who and what I am without getting in trouble. But I can't. The water lifts into the air and slips back into the vase. Lilac carefully wraps my shoulder up again. I sit up, leaning against the wall.

"Are you sure you're a non-bender?" A tall man walks into the room. He's about my age, which is 19. "You should know better than to lie to us. We're not fire benders." He face is stoic and cold. Her has striking violet eyes and shaggy raven hair, and his voice is as cold as he looks. "I-i'm a non-bender. It's no lie," I say, shyly looking to the ground. He and Lilac exchange glances and she nods. Lilac turns back to me, "Don't be afraid of Smoke, Kira. He's not really a stranger person. Or a friend person, either... He's not a people person." She sent him a death glare. "Oh, by the way, we're the rebels." She smiled gleefully.

My eyes widen. _Rebels?... Oh. That would explain why she revealed that she was a water bender so easily._ _And why they took me in..._ I'm calmer now, as I've realized they wouldn't hurt me for no good reason. Unsure of what to say, I grin a little bit and say, "Cool."

"Do you have any skills, Kira?" Smoke asks, leaning against the wall. I brush my fingers across my hair, which is loose and turquoise. I hesitate for a moment. "No, not really. I can sorta defend myself, though." He's staring at my mouth, probably because of my tongue piercing. His eyes are lightly rimmed with something that looks like bloodlust. It's almost like he's vaguely familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. "Do I know you from some-"

"No." His reply is almost a snap and his gruesomeness shakes me into an awkward silence. Lilac leans over and whispers something in his ear and he snorts. She is enraged and it was probably a threat. "It's alright, Kira, we'll teach you combat," Lilac says, turning to me and smiling gleefully as if nothing happened. My lips twitch into a small smile. "Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**Almost A Month Later**

A short, sharp silver blade is hurling towards me, spiraling. Its speed is great and it is almost nothing but accurate. My reactions scream at me, and for once I listen. I jerk to the side, dodging the danger that has been thrown towards me. It slams into the wall, lodged deeply into it. I feel sweat dribble down my skin and my heart beat races as fast as the rapids at Lake Laogai. I lash out at my target, angrily swinging my scythe at him.

He dodges it as if it were nothing, grabbing the exposed handle of my weapon and ripping it out of my grip. It clatters to the floor. In a flash my attacker is by my side, pulling my head back with a handful of my hair and resting two fingers on my neck. A shiver slides down my spine and I take that moment to catch my breath. Malicious violet eyes stare at me, and I met them with the corner of my eyes. There is a pause between us, as we both do not move a muscle. The stoic faced non-bender's lips twitch into something that seems like an attempt to frown. He lets go of my hair and I fall to the ground on my knees, my chest rising up and down and my previously held-up turquoise hair sliding into my face.

"God, Smoke..." I mutter, rubbing the back of my head.

"Why didn't you use that opening to prevent me from winning? A real enemy would've Chi Blocked you... or even worse, killed you." He crosses his arms. My eyes narrow a bit. "I didn't use that 'opening' because I would never hurt _you_ , Smoke. You're my-"

I pause. Was it right to call Smoke a friend? I've served a month under his training and he's shown no affection or care for me. I don't think he would care if I was Chi Blocked on the floor, either.

He raises an eyebrow. "Ally," I finish, misery rimming my words. He shakes his head. "A real enemy is not to be-"

"Yeah, yeah. A real enemy... blah blah blah. If you were a real enemy I would've taken that opening, okay?" I say sternly. Smoke sighs, closing his eyes. He's probably tired of my stubbornness... a lot of people are.

"Well I think she did wonderful!" Attempts Lilac, walking up to me and giving me an affectionate smile. She turns from me and looks at Smoke, her eyes murderous in an _I-will-freaking-kill-you_ fashion. Ah, Lilac. So sweet, so brutal. Smoke gives a huff of regard. "Mmm-hmm."

Lilac sighs, crossing her arms. Her petite frame seems even more scrawny today, but then again it's been almost two weeks since I've seen her. She put a light hand through her snow-white hair and sighs. "How about we get some food, Kira?" She says coldly. Smoke does not make a remark like he usually does. Is it possibly because he's afraid of Lilac?... No. Who could be? She could threaten well when she wanted to, but I wouldn't be _scared_ of her.

"Lilac, _please_ ," Smoke complained half-heartedly, "I'm easy on her." Lilac glares and grabs my arm. Shocked by the sudden physical touch, I recoil but she holds on tightly. "Really, Smoke? Explain that!" She points at a deep gash in my arm. I grumble and she lets go. "Come on... we should probably get that patched up." I nodded, although I honestly think that such a minor thing is a nuisance to Lilac and a waste of material. It is strange how people have such different perspective towards things.

An abrupt blaring suddenly streams into my ears. Flashing noises bounced around the room and Smoke's eyes widened. "Get your weapon!" He shouts at me, and without a second thought, I obey. _What's going on?..._ Lilac grits her teeth, her face washing over with seriousness. She leads me quickly to the western exit, whereas Smoke goes towards the eastern one. I climb down a narrow metal staircase through a storm of people, keeping myself close to Lilac. The alarms haven't stopped.

We are huddled in a room, where everyone seems less panicked. I clutch my scythe. "Lilac?..." I whisper. She looks at me, but not in the warm and welcoming way she used to. She is stoic and her face is cold. "What's going on? Why did Smoke go the other way?" I ask. "The Fire-Benders have found us... You see, Kira, we're rebels. We're a threat to the Fire Nation's armies and therefore, in their eyes, we have to be wiped out. No matter what. That's why Smoke and the other front-liners have to go defend us. I know you're not usually used to it, but here we treat Non-benders and benders the same. We have the same expectations, but even so, Smoke is still on the front line... A lot of people die, Kira," Lilac said, words spilling out of her mouth. _Non benders,_ the words repeat in my head. If I reveal who I truly was, I could be in the front lines. I could defend us... but I've been hiding the same secret for a month. I can't risk losing their trusts at this point.

I bury my face in my hands and Lilac nimbly puts an arm around me, a motion that is supposed to be reassuring. Yet I feel numb to it.


	4. Chapter 4

And then something unexpected happened.  
The doors began to ramble, shouts coming from the other side. "Open the door! _Now_!" Snapped the voices. The banging got louder. The small group of people in hiding were silent. A young girl clung to a man, shivering in fear, her cheeks streaming with non-stop tears. These were defenseless people. These were not fighters.

Lilac looked frantic. Her fingers twitched and she trembled. If they had gotten here, that means... Smoke and the front-liners could've died. A stand up, grabbing my scythe. "Kira, no," she hissed softly to me. Lava is jetted through the door, burning it into liquid on the floor. The fire benders storm in, pointing their weapons at us mercilessly. "Get on the ground!" One snaps. I stand up, grabbing my beloved military battle axes.

"On the ground!" He snaps, his eyes icy and cold. I clutch my weapons and dash forward, swinging my weapons. .

The fire benders dodge the weapon but I turn, slamming my legs at one's shins, knocking him to the ground. The soldiers immediately topple over me, grabbing my hands and chaining them to my back, holding a spear to my throat. My axes clatter to the ground uselessly. A violent smile forms on the soldier's lips, his foul-smelling breath wafting through my nose as he is inches away from my face. I grit my teeth and scowl at him. "I'll show you what happens to rebels like you, you useless girl," he says, his eyes making me question his sanity.

 _Earth-bend. Now._ My fingers twitch as I begin the process. It's been so long. Suddenly, the soldier gasps and falls on his face in front of my knees. Blood pools around him and I stare, amazed.

There is an icicle sticking out of his body. I look up at Lilac. Her face is stoic as she grabs the chains restraining my wrists, shoving the key she had retrieved from the guard into the keyhole and releasing me from my binds. Another wave of guards swarm towards us and I rapidly hack my axe with accuracy at a soldier's exposed neck.

I've just killed. Too distracted to acknowledge this, I sweep my legs at a guard behind me, knocking him over as spears are slashed towards me. I groan in pain, feeling the open wounds that have been sliced into my skin. Lilac's water slams into their heads, knocking them all out in one hit. I suddenly understand why Smoke is afraid of her.

She slams her foot into a guard's stomach, knocking him over in the process. Lilac is like a war machine, going on and on, dominating every enemy she comes across. And yet I am useless. I grumbled as a fire-bender's hefty foot slams into my chest and knocks the breath out of me. _God damnit, why am I so bad at fighting?!_

He bends over to me, a slight grin coming across his face. "Not so tough, now, girl?" He purrs. I attempt to sit up but his hand shoves me down. "Screw you," I hiss, slamming my fist against his jaw. He is surprised and lets his guard down, so I slam my foot into his stomach, the way Smoke had taught me. My blade slashed against his chest, leaving his neck exposed.

I hesitate. A grim feeling washes over me as I realize something: I can't kill him. Fire seeps into my side and I try to avoid it. Pain scorches through me, as if he'd destroyed my very nerves. I let out a gasp, my eyes wide as I bend down on the floor. The soldier kicks me in the stomach. I am out of breath and I am hurt. My throat clogs up with a metallic taste and I spit out a handful of blood onto the floor.

 _"Kira!"_ Shouts a voice, but it's so hazy and distant, just like a dream... I feel the handle of something slowly slip away from my hand, and my face presses against the cold floor. _This is the end,_ I think, croaking as I loose all ability to move my limbs. The world blurs out before my eyes, slipping away once more.


End file.
